48 pages • 1 hour read
Red Harvest
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Chapters 22-27Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 22 Summary: “The Ice Pick”
After Dinah’s body is discovered, the police want to talk to the Op. He provides Lieutenant McGraw with the false alibi, claiming to have been at the Tanner House all night. The Op privately believes that Whisper killed Dinah. Meanwhile, Pete the Finn has made an alliance with the police, and his “mob” is being sworn in as special deputies. Later, the Op hears from Mickey that Dan Rolff went to the hospital with a fractured skull, only to sneak out and disappear.
A lawyer named Charles Proctor Dawn calls the Op and requests a meeting. Then, someone knocks at the hotel room door. A man named Ted Wright, dressed in a gaudy suit, is standing outside. He enters the room and claims to be friends with Whisper, though mentions that he would be willing to kill Whisper for “half a grand” (173). The Op grills Wright, who claims that Whisper and Dan shot at one another. Dan is dead and Whisper is wounded. The wounded Whisper is holed up in a warehouse on Porter Street. Wright was willing to pretend to have shot Whisper, hoping that he could earn some money from the Op.
The Op leaves to visit the lawyer. In Dawn’s office, the Op is told that he needs legal representation. Dawn demands $1,000 to represent the Op, whom the police are charging with murder. The Op agrees to return to Dawn’s office in the morning.
Chapter 23 Summary: “Mr. Charles Proctor Dawn”
The next day, the Op hears reports of trouble around the city. He returns to the lawyer’s office, only to find Charles Dawn dead. After looking through Dawn’s pockets, he finds some papers and a little black book. Returning to his hotel, he examines his “loot.” He is intrigued by the name Helen Albury, who lives at 1229A Hurricane Street. This address is across the road from Dinah’s house, and he wonders whether Helen Albury is related to Robert Albury.
Looking at the papers, the Op is surprised to find that they are love letters addressed to Dinah. They are signed by Elihu Willsson. The Op goes to 1229A Hurricane Street. Inside, he speaks to a scared, panicky young woman. He suggests to her that Helen Albury is Robert Albury’s sister. When Robert was arrested, he says, Helen moved into the house opposite Dinah to plot her revenge. Dawn wanted to take possession of Elihu’s love letters, so he came up with a plan. The young woman says nothing. The Op tells Dick to watch her.
Later, Dick calls to say that Helen went to Dawn’s office and was met by the police. The police are now asking Helen questions about the murder. The Op leaves to book himself into a new hotel under a false name.
Chapter 24 Summary: “Wanted”
Dick says that the police want the Op in connection with the murders of both Dawn and Dinah. As such, the Op needs to keep a low profile. Dick suspects that the Op is guilty, so the Op sends him back to San Francisco.
That evening, an anonymous person contacts the Op to say that Reno is hiding out at a place owned by Kid McLeod. The Op finds Reno to tell him where Whisper is hiding. In turn, Reno reveals that Pete the Finn is hiding in Whiskeytown. Reno is plotting to kill Pete. He hopes that Whisper (and his gang) will join him, especially if the Op can convince Whisper to do so. They prepare for the attack in a room “filled with men, smoke, and tension” (293).
Chapter 25 Summary: “Whiskeytown”
The Op joins Reno and his men on the way to Whiskeytown. There, a gunfight occurs. Reno’s men shoot at Pete’s men. Many people are killed until Pete agrees to surrender. As they follow Reno’s instructions, however, Reno guns down Pete and his men in cold blood. The Op escapes through an alley and makes his way to Elihu’s house.
Chapter 26 Summary: “Blackmail”
The Op enters Elihu Willsson’s house. He speaks to Elihu, showing him the collection of love letters found on Dawn’s dead body. He accuses Elihu of hiring Dawn to get the incriminating love letters back, only for Dawn to try to extort the Op. The Op threatens to make the letters public unless Elihu agrees to work with him. The Op wants to drive corruption out of Personville, including the crooked cops. He is willing to do whatever it takes to clean up the city and he wants Elihu’s help, though he once again turns down the offer to become chief of police.
Later, the Op speaks to Mickey about the violence which is threatening to take over the city. They believe that Rolff killed Whisper, so they set out to find Rolff.
Chapter 27 Summary: “Warehouses”
The Op and Mickey search for Rolff. They suspect that he is hiding in the warehouses on Porter Street. While searching for him, they overhear a conversation between two men. One of the men admits to killing Dinah. A gun fires and the Op bursts into the room, where Reno, Rolff, and Whisper are together. Whisper and Rolff are dead; Reno is badly hurt, claiming that the dying Whisper “put all four in [him]” (212).
The Op rushes to Reno and urges him to explain what happened. The dying Reno confesses to killing Dinah. She had spoken to him to ask for protection from Whisper. Reno visited Dinah. She said she was alone, but the Op was passed out in a laudanum-induced sleep on her bed. Reno felt that Dinah was luring him into a trap. He panicked and grabbed the ice pick, killing Dinah. At that moment, a half-conscious Op burst into the room and stumbled into Reno as he was stabbing Dinah. He ended up passed out with his hand on the murder weapon.
Reno dies. The Op believes that he needs to lay low for the immediate future. After typing up his reports about what happened, he leaves Personville for San Francisco. He believes that the town has been cleaned of corruption, but he does not know how long this will last. In San Francisco, his boss gives him “merry hell.”
Chapters 22-27 Analysis
When he became aware of the true scale of The Poisonous Nature of Corruption in Personville, the Op sent for help. His agency sent Mickey and Dick, two private detectives whom the Op knew he could trust. While Mickey has remained loyal to the Op, Dick’s trust begins to waver. Dick is a detective, replete with the cynical worldview which defines the Op. He trusts no one, not even his friends.
However, Dick is sent back to San Francisco not because he is cynical or doubtful, but because he represents the Op’s self-doubt. With the murder of Dinah Brand still unsolved, the Op is haunted by the unspoken possibility that he may have killed her while drugged. Until he can identify the killer for sure, he cannot tolerate any form of self-doubt, which is why he sends Dick away. The exile is symbolic, a way for the Op to double down on his moral certainty before dealing with the corruption in the city once and for all.
After a warrant is issued for the Op’s arrest, he must deal with the institutional power of an entire corrupt city, rather than just the enmity of a few petty criminals. By issuing the warrant, the police have also changed their dynamic with the Op. Previously, he was empowered by Elihu to hunt out corruption in the city. Now, the hunter has become the hunted, and the Op must proceed in secrecy if he wants to succeed. Despite the change in dynamic, the Op’s master plan is taking effect. Since the first few encounters with the city’s corrupt officials, the Op has recognized their lack of loyalty. By turning them against one another, he can even the playing field and make the fight fairer.
The changing nature of the city reflects the success of the Op’s plan. While the police department may hunt him, he is only a small part of their immediate focus. The police have been turned into another gang by enrolling many of Pete the Finn’s men. Now, they are just criminals with badges. The police are at war with the gangs; by turning them on one another, the Op distracts them just enough to give himself space to operate.
The success of this policy is proven when the Op does find Whisper, Reno, and Rolff. By the time he reaches them, they have already turned on one another. Rolff and Whisper are dead, while Reno is dying. The lack of loyalty is shown when Reno tells everything to the Op. In death, he has no obligations or loyalties. He wants to absolve himself of any guilt, so he pretends that the Op is a priest, and he makes his confession.
At the end of Red Harvest, the Op leaves Personville. Most of the criminal bosses are dead, though their elimination has come at a great cost, with the high death toll reflecting The Impacts of Male Violence. The scale of violence has attracted national attention. Now, more than just The Herald is paying attention to Personville, as the nation’s press descends on the city to report on the blood in the streets. In this respect, the Op has succeeded. He has eliminated most of the corrupt leaders in the city while creating enough national interest in the corruption that the city may have a chance to rebuild itself in a more law-abiding fashion.
At the same time, however, he has done nothing to eliminate the root causes of the corruption. The Op has created a power vacuum that will almost inevitably be filled with whatever enterprising criminal rises from the underworld. Twice, the Op has turned down the role of chief of police. He feels as though he can do no more, so he leaves the city with a personal feeling of victory having been achieved.
In leaving the city and returning to San Francisco, he leaves Personville to police itself. At the same time, he subjects himself to the judgment of his boss. He receives “merry hell” for his many rule breaches, but his willingness to submit himself to such judgment distinguishes him from the corrupt men of Personville, who believed that they were not beholden to any laws. While he may be criticized, the Op’s willingness to submit to judgment shows that he has not been completely corrupted by Poisonville and that he still maintains The Importance of a Moral Code.
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